Bodrum and Çeşme are hands down Turkey’s most popular summer vacation destinations with their luxurious hotels, trendy beach clubs and magnificent marinas. While the Aegean resort towns offer a refreshing break for vacationers, they are also the buzzy stops of exhibitions and festivals for those who prefer their time off to be filled with art. With artful adventures in mind, we have gathered four exhibitions that holiday goers must see in Bodrum and Çeşme while enjoying the sun, exquisite white sandy beaches and azure sea.

‘The Sea Inside Me’

Anna Laudel Bodrum is presenting Fırat Neziroğlu’s solo exhibition of his new works titled "The Sea Inside of Me" between June 18 and July 31 at ZAI Yaşam. Neziroğlu transforms the traditional form of weaving, one of the oldest arts known in Anatolia, into a unique contemporary technique in his artwork. He gives a different perspective to the classical weaving tradition by using the fishline for the first time, and he is widely noticed for this patented special weaving technique in contemporary art.

"The Sea Inside of Me" includes a selection of artworks that will be exclusively showcased at Anna Laudel Bodrum. The artist presents four large carpet works referring to the first-known Turkish carpet, which came out of the Pazyryk burial sites in Central Asia, called the "Turkish Knot."

In addition to these four carpets with softened corners and flowing fish patterns, the visitors will also enjoy the experience of seeing interactive aquarium embroidery and a fish figurine in water. The exhibition also features a video of Neziroğlu dancing in the water.

Open-air sculpture park show

Sevil Dolmacı Art Gallery will greet art lovers this summer with an open-air sculpture park in a gallery space adjacent to Naru Restaurant in the Bodrum MESA compound. Bodrum MESA is located near Demirbükü Bay, one of the most beautiful locations in Bodrum.

Sculptors represented by the gallery produced exclusive large-scale works for MESA. Ozan Oganer, Bahadır Çolak, Kadriye Inal, Yasin Uysallar and Gözde Can Köroğlu will present their site-specific sculptures in the open-air park within the theme of "Alice in Wonderland."

The neon works of German artist Ruby Anemic, who has been previously included in Borusan Contemporary’s collection in Turkey, the handmade wood sculptures of Reuven Israel, screen printings from Andy Warhol's "Sunday B. Morning (after)" series, paper works by British artist David Shrigley, recent works of Haluk Akakçe, gender-themed works of Leila Babirye, still-lifes of American painter Theodore Boyer, portraits of Ghanaian artist Felix Kwesi Awotwi and video installations of Sara Ludy will also be among the international selection of the gallery in Bodrum this summer.

Along with its Villa Ipranosyan and St. Regis Nişantaşı locations in Istanbul, Sevil Dolmacı Art Gallery will present biweekly pop-up exhibitions at Bodrum MESA throughout the summer of 2022.

‘Invitation to Journey’

Another top art show to see in Bodrum is "L'invitation au Voyage - Invitation to Journey" by world-renowned photography artist and creative director Mathieu Forget, known as "Flying Man." The exhibition, which opened at the Bodrum EDITION, features 10 fascinating photos taken in five different cities in Turkey. Background videos describing the construction phase of the works also be included in the exhibition.

The exhibition journey of Forget, which started in Bodrum, will continue in different cities of Turkey, as well.

‘IX Exhibition'

Founded in 2002 in Nişantaşı, Istanbul, Dirimart opened its second gallery space in May 2016 in Dolapdere where it has been operating exclusively since 2019. Recently, the gallery has chosen to diversify and expand its sphere of activities through off-site exhibitions that extend outside Dolapdere and Istanbul. Committed to its mission of representing internationally acclaimed artists in Turkey and promoting local artists on national and international platforms, Dirimart has been instrumental in strengthening Istanbul’s role in the global art world and is now enthusiastic about meeting the audiences in Alaçatı.

Dirimart is primed to meet the audiences with an extraordinary program at The Stay Warehouse in Alaçatı in Çeşme. A selection of works by 12 artists has been created to be showcased at The Stay Warehouse, which used to serve as a beer warehouse back in the 1980s, under the title of "IX Exhibition." The show brings together Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Ayşe Erkmen, Mustafa Hulusi, Mevlana Lipp, Seçkin Pirim, Hayal Pozantı, Anselm Reyle, Nasan Tur, Ebru Uygun, Allan Villavicencio, Berke Yazıcıoğlu and Peter Zimmerman, displaying works that communicate with one another as well as the history and architecture of The Stay Warehouse. Opening on June 24, "IX Exhibition" can be visited until Aug. 21.